Friday, 31 May 2013

Making Ireland a Hub for Humanitarian Aid One of the major current weaknesses of the international response to humanitarian crises or conflicts is the absence of a coordinating centre to assemble resources and personnel. In government, Labour will position Ireland to become an international hub for the storage and distribution of emergency humanitarian supplies, and for the assembly of military and civilian personnel for EU or UN peacekeeping missions. The Shannon airport area, with easy access to ports, extensive space, long runways and large depots would be an ideal location for such a hub.

PANA Chair, Roger Cole, a delegate to the Conference, asked for clarification of this statement in the Programme for Government.
Mr. Cole asked: " Does this mean the termination of the use of Shannon Airport by US troops in these permanent ongoing wars?" citing Afghanistan and Iraq.

Eamon Gilmore in his closing speech to the Conference, replied to Roger Cole's call for clarification. The Labour Party Leader stated that: "Yes, Roger Cole has pointed out an area where there is a difference" and "that it may be hard to believe" but that the statement in the Programme for the Government "does mean what is says".

Doesn't it seem like a rehearsed a little, its was a sop to any labour delgatess foolish enough to use this as excuse to vote for Labour to join Fine Gael in goverment who will continue the policy of war profiteering.

"There is no Atlantic hub so far. None of the areas the Minister of State has mentioned are near the Atlantic."

Finding more about this, here is a presentation from a man named Brian Byrne that he gave on behalf of the an organization he heads in Jacksonville, a Florida Chamber of Commerce subsidiary called Cornerstone in a military airport/seaport town where they are planning to collaborate on this Atlantic Aid hub.Jacksonville

Development plan would “support the development of innovative initiatives that harness the potential of the airport including, but not exclusive to, a residential flight school, global logistics centre for humanitarian aid, unmanned aerospace systems and a centre for space collaboration and research co-operation.”

Wow a impressive list of maybes.

Everyone wants their project to be a world leader, a global hub, doesn't mean they will be.

Hardly a mention from any of these people about the current military activity at the airport, they don't want to mention it lest it hurt their marketing sheen.

Where did you get the such a strong idea that this was to be USAID, the presentation suggests it is but you seem pretty sure? ( a resonse to somebody on P.ie)

I think you should finish one policy before you start another, you can't have paint yourself as humanitarian hub if you continue to refuel belligerent military invasion forces through your country that began long before any UN figleaf was put over them, not to mention the kidnap and torture rings.

Do we produce the drugs that would be needed?, would storing them here, if they came from elsewhere be a good idea?

With Shannon, we are trying to see what niche areas might be appropriate. It might not be suitable for stocking larger items like tents which would be more appropriate closer to disaster areas,” she said.“But medicines is one area that has potential. We have a big pharmaceutical industry here in Ireland

HOPES have been raised that Shannon may still be able to play some role as an international aid hub despite a consultants report rejecting the idea as being impractical. Former Minister of State for Trade and Development, Jan O'Sullivan, told the Limerick Post that she intends to push for further research "to see if the airport could have a role in some niche market like the storing of pharmaceuticals. This would be particularly possible if we got the Lynx cargo facility which has been talked about".